Q&A with Henna Veitch, Betty Sayn-Wittgenstein, and Natale Adgnot

Leading up to our upcoming monthly meeting on ‘Inspiration & Creativity,’ we’re featuring a Q&A with our speakers Henna Veitch, Founder of Design by Henna, Betty Sayn-Wittgenstein, Chocolatier at Passion Chocolat, and Natale Adgnot, Visual Artist. The Q&A is modeled on the Proust Questionnaire, designed to reveal insights into the respondent’s personality.

Find out how to follow your creative passions at our meeting this Thursday, May 11. Register for the meeting here!Henna Veitch, Founder of Design by Henna

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being able to travel the world and see examples of creative work. At the same time, producing my work to sell/show.

What is your greatest fear?
Losing my sight.

What is your current state of mind?Peaceful, happy.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Obedience – the willingness or being forced to obey, be controlled, carry out orders.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My husband.

When and where were you happiest?
When I lived in Florence in 2000. So much art….

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to write music.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Completing my PhD while on maternity leave.

What is your most treasured possession?
My mother’s sewing box.

What do you most value in your friends?
Kindness.

Which book do you think is a must-read for women?
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – total escapism and fun.

I think none of them are overrated! On the contrary we all should respect and practice them more.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Lorenzo, my husband.

When and where were you happiest?

Last year, when I got married to Lorenzo.

Which talent would you most like to have?

Writing – letters, stories, poems …

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Becoming shareholder of Passion Chocolat! I have been working very hard for years in the atelier, until one day the owner asked me to enter the company.

What is your most treasured possession?

I have a box with lots of things from little objects to photos, all the things I connect good memories to and value most.

What do you most value in your friends?

Honesty.

Which book do you think is a must-read for women?

I don’t read enough myself to give good advice.

Who are your heroes in real life?

There are a few, one of them is my best friend Antonia, after a severe accident she had to learn everything again from swallowing to walking and despite her remaining disabilities she never gives up!!!!

What is your motto?

Just do it! if success or failure you will grow with it!

What does FEW mean to you?

Connecting to like-minded women and supporting each other.

When have you have felt most empowered?

I think when I signed my contract to work for Passion Chocolat in Belgium. It was this conscious moment of changing my path!

Missing out on something great because of prejudices — mine or others’.

What is your current state of mind?

Curious (about the future and about the world in general) and restless.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Beauty. This might sound counterintuitive coming from someone who has spent much of her life in the realm of aesthetics, but my highest goal as a maker of things has always been to create something that is interesting. Respectively, I believe that the quest for physical beauty has led many people to forget to strive for something deeper.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

The happy family I form together with my husband and daughter.

When and where were you happiest?

In New York when I first discovered the fulfillment of belonging to a community of active artists.

Which talent would you most like to have?

Imperviousness to criticism.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Forging a life that expands more widely than the small world I grew up in.

What is your most treasured possession?

My memories of life’s best experiences.

What do you most value in your friends?

Authenticity and the tendency to draw out the best in me.

Which book do you think is a must-read for women?

“Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert is one of the most empowering books I’ve ever read in terms of leading a creative existence. But before that, seeds were planted in my life by the classic book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. For over 20 years now, lessons learned from that book have paid off time and again.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Women like Bjork, Frida Kahlo and Coco Chanel who brought their unique creative visions to life through sheer moxie, often in spite of difficult life circumstances and obstacles unduly placed before them because of their gender

What is your motto?

“The more you know yourself, the less judgmental you become.”

What does FEW mean to you?

I’m totally new to FEW, but it seems to provide the kind of community that brings out the best in people.

When have you have felt most empowered?

Each time I’ve decided to move to a new place (which I’ve done 4 times since graduating from university), I’ve soared on the winds of self-determination and adventure.